Sidewalk, floor, vault, and roof light construction.



L. W. MULIEORD. SIDEWALK, FLOOR, VAULT, AND R00]? LIGHT GONSTRUGTION.

7 APPLICATION I'ILBD APR.6, 1911.

995,079. r Patented June 13,1911.

In 1 Mi n1 I H HI, 1 1227 5 I L I IN I I 1 gwlllllllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllg ATTORNEYS ing at Narberth, Montgomery county,

' ilNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOGAN WILLARD 'MULFORD, OF NARBERTI-I, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BAR LOCK COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SIDEWALK, FLOOR, VAULT, AND ROOF LIGHT CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed April 6, 1911. Serial No. 619,330.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOGAN WILLARD MUL- roRD, a citizen of the United States, resid- State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Sidewalk, Floor, Vault, and Roof Light Construction, of which the following is a specification.

In the erection of sidewalk, floor, vault and roof light constructions, ithas heretofore required the employment of skilled labor to attend to the assembling of the various elements at their destination or point of use. It has also been heretofore proposed to produce a single unit for such construction to be used singly or to be added to it, but in so far as I am aware, no one in this art has heretofore devised the herein described construction, wherein the metal bars employed are first shaped and cut into suitable lengths at the factory from ordinary stock materials such as bars, channels or strips of iron, which can be shipped from the home factory loose or tied in bundles and then assembled without skilled labor at the building, place of use or destination by any ordinary workman, the spacing and supporting bars or strips being simply laid in, upon or in juxtaposition with each other, while the blocks or lenses are thereafter placed in position and the cement, concrete or other filling material lastly poured in place.

To the above ends my. present invention consists of a novel construction of skylight, vault, floor and roof light, in which bridging strips cooperate with the supporting members in such a manner that they are always parallel to each other so that the transparent or other blocks or tile may be assembled with respect thereto without the employment of skilled labor and wherein the bridging strips are provided with a depression into which the cement is adapted to pass, thereby elfect ing a very efiicient locking means for the bridging strips and their support.

My invention further consists of a novel construction of a sidewalk, floor or roof light construction, whereby the work of installation is performed entirely from the outside of the vault, building or compartment and without extraneous supports such as trussing or bracing from within.

It further consists of other novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings one form thereof which is at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a portion of a completed and artly completed floor, vault, roof or skylig it, embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section taken at right angles with section seen in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 represents a section on line wm Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawings. In carrying out the broad principles of my invention, I employ suitable exterior primary spacing devices which, in the present instance, I have shown as being composed of angle irons having V-shaped recesses therein, in which are supported V-shaped transverse strips, which latter support fiat strips having depressions therein adapted to seat in said V-shaped strips, but it will be evident that in the broad aspect of my invention, the exteriorly located primary spacing devices may be of any other suitable shape from that shown and that the recesses therein, instead of being V-shaped, may be of other shapes or may be slots in the upwardly projecting flange, while the transverse supporting devices instead of being V-shaped or trough shaped, as shown, may be of other shapes, as may also the co-acting supporting strips, without departing from the broad scope of my invention.

1 designates suitable primary spacing devices which may be angle bars or the like which are suitably supported by abutments 12, in the vault, room or building where my improved light is to be installed. These spacing devices or angle bars have seats or notches 2 in their upright flanges 3 at suitable distances from each other and trans V notches.

said edges and strips.

'be shipped in bundles 5 designates metallic or other bridging strips which have bends 6 or the like, which fit into said angle bars 4 and are placed at such distances from each other that they form, in the present instance, square or reci tangular openings 7 of such shape and dimensions as to permit the insertion of four lugs 8, upon the under side of a block, or

lens 9, into the corners of each opening.-

The lens 9 has a base flange 10 extending laterally on all four sides, to rest upon the strips and flanges of two angle-bars, and the sides of the lens have preferably ribs 11 upon them. 7

In constructing my novel device, the exterior spacing devices 1 having the notches in their upstanding flanges are placed upon suitable abutments arranged at distances adjusted according to the strength of the angle bars and the load they have to carry, said angle bars or spacing devices rest-ing upon said abutments with their unbroken foot flanges and having their notched flanges pointing upward or outward. These primary angle barsor spacing devices are so placed that their notches register or are in alinement and the secondary angle bars or supporting devices 4 are now placed in the notches, which are so placed that the foot-flanges of the lenses will rest upon the edges of said angle bars. The supporting strips are now placed with their bends resting in the troughs of the secondary angle bars 4 and at distances according to the dimensions indicated by the lugs upon the under-sides of the lenses, whereupon the latter are dropped in place with the lugs fitting in the corners of the openings formed by the edges of the angle bars and the strips, and the foot flanges resting upon A suitable cement is now filled intothe spaces between the lenses and level with their upper faces. The cement filling 13 fills into the angular grooves or troughs formed by the secondary angle irons or supporting devices 4 binding the filling against lateral displacement and locking the bent portions of the bridging strips in such troughs. The cement entering the spaces between the ribs upon the lenses locks the same against outward displacement. In this novel construction all the metal strips employed merely require to be cut into suitable lengths, the outer spacing and supporting members being notched or recessed at the factory, whereupon said bars, strips and lenses may or factory to their destination and put in place, as above described, by unskilled labor, as all of the parts during installation'fit naturally into or'upon one another. The

from the home ofiice angle bars or spacing devices 1, as well as the bars 4, provide strength with a minimum of weight and bulk, so that where transiparent or translucent blocks or lenses are employed, there will be a-miniinum of interference with the maximum transfusion of light.

All work in connection with my construction is carried out 011 the outside of the house, room or building or above the vault,

and without requiring any false work or other support from within. As the elements employed in 'my construction are plain angle bars, metal strips, blocks orlenses and cement, the construction may be cheaply carried out and with manufacturing work upon such elements. lVhile the construction principally applies to vault lights or similar structures where the blocks are glasslenses, it is evident that the blocks maybe of tile, stone or any other required or desired material. Any. cement or cementing composition may be used for connecting the elements of the construction.

I-desire to call special attention to the fact that 'in the production of my novel structure, I am enabled to greatly simplify and reduce the cost of installation, since it is only necessary to employ standard stock material to make the supporting frame, the construction in its entirety being simple and inexpensive and by varying the distances apart of the secondary bars and the supporting strips, I can adapt my device to the support of lenses of various sizes and to fit openings of "different diameters. It will be further understood that my device when assembled and completed is protected against the injurious effects of expansion and contraction due to variations of temperature little and inexpensive I and is also protected against leakage and by 7 my novel process and arrangement, I am enabled to install a structure wherein any desired number of bars can be-linked, connected or otherwise assembled to produce a surface of any desired length, supplemental supporting barsother than as I have herein indicated being located intermediate the ends of the bars, provision being made by my construction for producing a device which can be combined, prolonged or elongated indefinitely with others of like character, all of the primary work being completed at the factory ready for speedy installation by unskilled labor. By the cmwithout any ployment of the construction shown, it will...

be apparent that the cement filling will extend down into the troughs of the secondary :bars and any water falling upon the surface and not received upon or flowing off from the impermeable tilerportion will be 7.

absorbed to a certain extent by thecement and received in the channels of the supporting secondary bars or beams thus preventing it from escaping into the open space beneath. It will of course be apparent that the structure can be widened or elongated indefinitely by multiplying the primary spacing devices or angle bars 1 according to requirements.

I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed in the patent to Braun, No. 699,783, patented May 13th, 1902, to place bridging strips upon the supporting strips but such a structure requires skilled labor to assemble and no means are employed for maintaining the bridging strips parallel and to the construction therein I make no claim. In my present invention the bridging strips are deflected to form a cement receiving recess corresponding to the shape of the supporting devices 4, so that the bridging strips are always retained in parallel relation with respect to each other.

It will be apparent that I have devised a new and useful construction of a sidewalk, floor, vault and roof light construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In sidewalk, floor or roof light construction, primary bars adapted to rest upon suitable supports and formed with seats, secondary trough-shaped bars resting in said seats and extending transversely to said primary bars, block supporting strips transversely supported upon said secondary bars and formed with bent portions engaging the troughs of the same, whereby said strips on being assembled are caused to assume and maintain a parallel position with respect to each other, blocks having foot-flanges resting upon the edges of said trough-shaped bars and upon said strips, and a cement filling in said bars and between the blocks;

2. In sidewalk, floor or roof light con struction, primary angle bars adapted to rest upon suitable supports and having angular notches in their upwardly projecting flanges, secondary angle bars resting in said notches, flat metallic strips resting upon the edges of said secondary bars and having bent portions fitting in the troughs formed by the secondary bars, blocks having footflanges resting upon the edges of the second ary bars and upon the strips, and cement filling in the secondary bars and between the blocks.

3. In sidewalk, floor or roof light construction, primary angle bars 1 adapted to rest upon suitable supports and having angular notches 2 in their outwardly projecting flanges, secondary angle bars 4 resting in said notches, flat metallic strips 5 resting upon the edges of said secondary bars and having bent portions 6 fitting in the troughs formed by the secondary bars, blocks 9 having lugs 8 upon their under sides fitting against the edges of the openings formed by the secondary bars and the strips and foot-flanges resting upon said bars and strips and formed with ribs 11 upon their sides, and cement filling 18 in the secondary bars and between the blocks.

LOGAN WILLARD MULFORD.

Witnesses:

H. S. FAIRBANKS, C. D. MOVAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

